Desktop graphics applications allow colour images to be reproduced on various devices. Colours may be also converted from a colour space to another colour space, e.g., from a RGB space to a CMYK space. Each device or colour space has a specific colour characteristics it can reproduce. For example, a monitor displays a same colour differently from a printing press. Different colour characteristics can occur even between similar models of equipment from the same manufacturer. For colours to be accurately translated from device to device or from colour space to colour space, users need to account for the differences between the colour characteristics of each device or colour space.
In order to assist adjustment of colours between different devices and colour spaces, conventionally colour profiles are used to describe colour characteristics of colour devices and colour spaces. Manufacturers of devices often provide ICC colour profiles with their devices. ICC Colour Profiles are colour profile files in a format defined by the International Colour Consortium (ICC).
Typically, modern desktop graphics applications provide users with the means to manage colour characteristics of images that are obtained, displayed or printed on various devices, or converted to different colour spaces. However, generally there are many devices and colour spaces whose colour settings need to be adjusted. The number of these devices and colour spaces in combination with the range of possible settings for each of them can make tasks of accurate colour management difficult, especially for novice users.
Existing systems usually have a user interface for allowing users to manage colours. However, components of this type of user interface spread among different parts of the graphic application. For example, a user interface of colour management for printing on a specified printer is provided in the setting user interface for the specified printer. Such spread user interface prevents users from clearly seeing how these devices and colour spaces are related to each other. An image reproducing job often involves a group of colour devices and spaces. It is difficult for users to organize colour management settings in groups specific to the type of job to be performed.
It is therefore desirable to provide a user interface that allows users to easily manage colours of multiple colour devices and colour spaces.